An undergraduate student who would browse and buy books on College Street would enquire about the boipara even decades later when he became the chief minister.

Calcutta’s boipara is indebted to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, many old timers on College Street said on Thursday, remembering his contribution to their continued existence.

Bhattacharjee had persuaded then chief minister Jyoti Basu to spare the book stalls on the College Street footpaths during Operation Sunshine, when hawkers were being removed from pavements across the city.

Thursday was a regular morning for 63-year-old Sailen Ghosh, who was dusting the books and getting ready for the day when his employee, a young boy, told him that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was dead. “I was able to run my family and raise my three children because of Buddhadeb-babu. The book stall was my only source of income and I shall remain forever indebted to him. All my children are today financially independent,” said Ghosh.

When Operation Sunshine was launched in the 1990s, Ghosh and many others were scared and spent sleepless nights.

“Pavements were being cleared in several places and we would stay put through the night, guarding our stalls,” said Sasti Prasad Dutta.

“One night I had started packing the books to move them. But the next morning we heard that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had assured us that the boipara would not be touched. It was such a relief for us,” said Dutta.

Bhattacharjee’s association with the book hub started when he was an undergraduate student.

“He would go around browsing and buying books. He would also come to our shop as a student and even later,” said Arabinda Das Gupta, managing director, Das Gupta & Company Pvt Ltd.

"I would meet him after he became chief minister and he would ask about boipara," said Dasgupta.